I'll Never Say It
by Hezpeller
Summary: A drabble-ish story, with the WallArt/ Spitfire Ship, for Wally/Artemis Week! Rated T for potential language.
1. How We Say What We Say

**Soo, totally not the expected story everyone was waiting for :/**

**Anyway, this is for Wally Artemis Week going on at dA, and today's theme was Secrets! **

**I decided to make this a bit different, and instead of doing on fic for each prompt, I'm linking all prompts into one small fic! **

**Also, I'm setting a small challenge for myself, in which I actually won't mention the prompt in the chapter...so in this case, I didn't mention the word 'secret' at all :)**

**Hence the title, I'll Never Say It. But it's got more than one meaning ;)**

**Anywhooo, that's about it from me! So please enjoy, and leave me a review!**

**I'll be updating this fic everyday, so hang on for the next chapter!**

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><p>==Mount Justice<p>

Artemis didn't know why the speedster didn't get the idea. Everyone had something to hide, and yet, he had decided that the only one that wasn't worthy of hiding something, and that had to spill her true nature, was her. Artemis didn't see Wally pestering Robin to reveal his identity, and yet she had to explain why her father had wanted her to kill people.

This just got her blood boiling so badly. Which was why at this specific instant, she was murdering the practise target with her arrows, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.

Why should she even care as to what Wally wanted to know or not? Was it that deep down, she wanted him to accept her as more than a measly replacement, and that she wanted more than having to make herself heard every time he was in the vicinity in order to feel like she was worth something? Yes, she wanted acceptance, since after all, with her background, being treated as a hero was something that she never thought would happen. And yet, everyone always made her feel welcome, except for Wally, who reminded her everyday of what she had left, since the constant put down was very reminiscent of what her father had done, and although he had no way of knowing about this, it made Artemis even more pissed at the speedster.

"Hey Artemis?" Megan's voice broke into her thoughts.

"What?" Artemis barked, not even staring at Megan as she continued to shoot her arrows.

"We're going to the beach to eat some lunch, do you want to join us?" Megan tentatively asked, staring at the charred remains that once were a target, exploding arrows littering the floor.

"Fine, I'll come in a couple of minutes." Artemis replied with an air of finality in her voice.

As Megan left, Artemis exhaled. She seriously wasn't helping her case, since by going to lunch with them, she would be right in Wally's sight, perfect for more annoying taunts. But Artemis wasn't one for backing down, and he would have to do a lot more than to make her give up.

==Some Minutes Later

"Hey Megan, where did you run off to?" Wally's charismatic voice greeted the Martian as she arrived at the beach.

"I was getting Artemis." Megan replied, sitting down beside Superboy.

"The she-witch? Why would you want her to dampen this picnic?" Wally retorted, disgust all over his face.

"Because, Baywatch, some people prefer hanging around with me, rather than having to deal with your constant 'mightier than thou' attitude you're always sporting." Artemis had arrived, and her scowl was colliding with Wally's own angry face.

The rest of the team was staring with interest, but at the same time apprehensive.

"Oh yeah, because you never act like you're the best?" Wally scoffed. "Please, you just need to get it through your head that you're a replacement! Plus, all your mysterious attitude isn't gaining you any points."

Artemis rolled her eyes. This was getting boring, it was always the same argument, and it would get to the point where Wally ran out of comebacks and the team would use that split-second to break them up.

"Hmm, it seems my plans for combat training are down the drain." Someone spoke up, and the team turned to see Black Canary striding towards them, a smirk on her face, and one of Artemis' arrows on her hand, and her other hand clenched in a fist. "So, rhetorical question time. Who trashed the training room with these?" Black Canary asked, holding up said arrow.

Wally started guffawing, seeing Artemis meekly raise her hand as an answer, pointlessly. "Nice job, you going to trash the rest of the mountain next?"

"Don't look so smug Wally," Black Canary smirked wider now, and held up her other hand, and unclenched her fist, showing a wrapper. "A little birdy told me that you're responsible for the pigsty I'm supposed to consider a kitchen."

Wally rounded off on Robin. "Dude!"

Robin held his hands up defensively. "I never said anything!"

"No, he didn't, but I did use his security cam feature." Black Canary replied. "It's been catching everything since day 1. You don't think we'd let a bunch of teenagers out and about here without some sort of security measure?"

Megan paled. "Wait, a security camera? That's been watching everything?"

Black Canary was having a field day right now, it definitely beat combat training right about now. "Yes, including that moment you guys had that day off."

Both Conner and Megan blushed, remembering their almost kiss in the kitchen.

"Anyway, combat training. How to clean up. Groups of three. Kaldur, Conner and Megan, kitchen duty, and good luck, those banana peels are treacherous."

Kaldur grimaced. "Yes, ma'am."

"Flattery won't get you out of doing this. Now, the rest of you three, are going to be picking up these wonderful blown up arrows." Black Canary.

Robin raised his hand. "Um, can I pass? I don't want to be stuck in a room with the sexual tension of these two going off."

Dinah shook her head. "Nice try, but you must learn to work independent of what's going on with your team. So enjoy this quality bonding time."

Everyone groaned as they shuffled to their respective cleaning station, leaving Dinah very happy as she went to the control room, where a bunch of Justice League members were watching, hoping to get lots of entertainment.

==Combat room

"Alright Arty-" Wally started, standing at the foot of the doorway.

"Don't- Call me that." Artemis narrowed her eyes, standing opposite him.

"Great, can I at least enter the room? I promise I'll put up mistletoe for the holidays on the doorway so you guys can kiss." Robin rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, shoving the two aside and entering the room. "Holy-"

"You really did a number here Arty. Planning on murdering someone soon?" Wally whistled.

"What's it to you?" Artemis growled.

"Nothing, you just seem to be on a rampage here, so I'm wondering if your father's been ordering any more hits." Wally laughed, but was abruptly broken off as Artemis slammed him into the wall, more furious than he'd ever see her.

"Don't talk about him alright?" Artemis muttered, and as she let him go, she turned around so quickly, that she whipped him with her hair.

Wally all of a sudden felt guilty. And he was the last person to feel guilt on anything, but the thing was, he couldn't understand what was going on with Artemis, what she could be hiding, and yet here he was, making fun of her without any consideration. She was, until very recently it seems, carrying out some dirty deeds for her dad, and it seems that she wanted to forget it, but what could she have been doing that was so bad it deserved to be forgotten?

"Hey Baywatch? You going to help or just going to stand there looking like an idiot?" Artemis harshly snapped him back to reality, where Artemis was picking up her discarded arrows, and Robin was grabbing a broom to clean up some of the charred pieces that were around.

"Sure thing." Wally smirked, and started rushing around, and picking up what he could. Suddenly, his other two teammates started calling to him and he screeched to a stop. It seems that it was possible to make the combat room dirtier, and he just did, because his running had stirred up the dust, and flew everywhere, including the walls, and his two teammates.

"Thanks dude, but I think Red Tornado's got the twister thing worked out." Robin groaned.

"Great, now how are we going to clean the walls?" Artemis groaned.

"I'll do it." Wally grinned, picking up a hose and getting ready to run up around the walls.

"Whoa, hold on a second, last I checked, you can't fly, so you're not going to be able to hang up there." Artemis shook her head, her voice softening up a little, as though she was actually concerned about his safety.

"Psh, I can handle it, blondie." Wally smirked, and ran up the wall, turning the hose on as he did. He started running around, and the walls were getting cleaner.

"Word to the wise." Robin smirked. "Wally never listens to what anyone says, if it contradicts what he wants to do."

Artemis scoffed. "As if I hadn't noticed that before."

"Hey guys!" Wally called out, "What did I tell you? I can- WHOA!"

Wally's foot had gotten snagged in the hose, and with the wet walls, Wally slipped, and started falling.

"WALLY!" Robin and Artemis screamed out, watching their team member freefall. They had no powers, but they did think fast, and hurried to grab some gym mats from where they were stacked, and managed to slip them under Wally a split second before serious damage was caused.

==Some minutes later

All activities were suspended as Wally was taken to the mountain's wing, and everyone awaited with baited breath as the diagnosis of Wally's state was revealed.

Flash went into the living room of the wing, and smiled, killing all tension. "He'll be fine. Some cracked bones and a minor concussion. He'll be out of it for a couple of days, so just hang on, and he'll be back in no time."

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><p><strong>Well, yeah...I don't know how great that was...does it seem a bit too far-fetched here?<strong>

**Anyway, hmm, tomorrow's theme is AU, so be prepared for that!**

**Thanks for reading, and a review is appreciated!**

**Hezpeller**


	2. A World Of Our Own

**Alright! New chapter! And it's VERY long :)**

**And so many reviews :/ Seriously people, is the fic that bad? Or is everyone on a strike?**

**Anyway, this chapter's theme is AU, so a keep a this in mind:**

**Some characters may be OOC, and I'll explain why after the chapter, since I don't want to ruin anything ;) **

**Also, like I said, all these drabbles make up one fic, and I won't mention the word AU or Alternate Universe at all. :D**

**Not that in this chapter it's that hard :P**

**For those that don't know, an alternate universe is something that deviates from what is considered 'canon'.**

**Techinically speaking, majority of the stories here are AU's, since most deviate from the show, and make their own spinoffs :D**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoy, and please leave me a review? Pretty please?**

**mimi: Yep, you're first :D Thanks so much, and enjoy this chapter!**

**KF-****AxxMexx: haha Wally is most definitely an idiot :) Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>==Elsewhere<p>

Wally heard his alarm ringing, and slammed the snooze button, groaning into the pillow. After he managed to will himself to get out of bed, he looked around in surprise. His room, which was usually covered with Flash decals and posters, was now covered with posters of various bands that he liked.

"When did this happen?" Wally wondered out loud.

Wally jumped down from his bed, and got into his running position, ready to zoom down to breakfast. He started to run, and as soon as he tried to get his super speed going, he promptly tripped and fell. "What the hell! What happened to my powers?" Wally complained, standing up.

He walked downstairs at normal speed, and saw his mother in the kitchen. "Morning Wally." She greeted.

"Hey mom, why did you take out all my Flash posters?" Wally asked, serving himself some juice.

Mary West looked at her son in confusion. "Flash posters? What are you talking about? I haven't entered your room in days!"

Wally's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, then who took down my Flash posters?"

"Honey, I have no idea what you're talking about. Is this some sort of new band?"

Wally gaped. "Mom! I'm talking about Flash, as in my uncle?"

Mary was now worried about her son's mental health. "Your uncle? Wally, you don't have an uncle!"

"What? But what about Iris? My aunt?" Wally asked, shocked.

"Wally, you don't have an aunt or an uncle alright, so calm down." Mary attempted to soothe her son, but it was pointless.

Wally was now getting exasperated. "Mom! If this is a joke, I'm really not finding it funny." Then it dawned on him. "Wait, did the rest of the team come and decide to play a prank on me?"

Mary was dumbfounded to say the least. "The baseball team? Nope, no one came here."

Wally groaned. "No mom, the other team? You know, the one we fight crime with? The superhero one?"

"Wally, what in the world are you babbling about? There's no such thing as superheroes."

"What? How can you say that? Then what about Batman and Superman?" Wally exclaimed.

Mary blinked a couple of times. Then she sighed, understanding. "Very funny young man, but your little charade to get out of your English test has gone far enough. Go to school, and I'll make an appointment with the doctor for later."

Wally sighed, this wasn't going well. Wally went upstairs to his room, and got out his cell phone. He decided that he could at least try to contact his other teammates to see if any of them were having the same problem he was. But first, he had to get out of the house.

==Some minutes later

Wally had searched his contact list for the past 5 minutes, and not one of the guys from the team was there. Well, no one that he wanted to contact. He saw Artemis' name, but he didn't want to take chances with the angry archer. Thankfully, he had the Wayne Manor number memorized, and he put the phone to his ear, listening to the ringing tone.

"Wayne Manor." Alfred's distinguished voice answered.

"Hey Alfred! Listen, do you know where Dick is?" Wally asked, thankful he had gotten through.

"I say sir, what sort of sick and demented question is this?" Alfred replied, indignant.

"Nonononono! I mean Richard Grayson!" Wally replied, repulsed.

"Grayson? As in the child from the Flying Graysons Act with the circus?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, the same one!" Wally ecstatically nodded, but in the back of his mind, he wondered why Alfred was talking about Dick like this.

"I suggest, sir, that you go look in your local paper for show times. Wayne Manor is in no means a box office." Alfred icily replied.

"Listen, can I talk to Mr. Wayne then?" Wally fumbled about, trying to see if someone was sane today.

"Which Mister Wayne would you be looking for?" Alfred replied.

"What? I'm talking about Bruce Wayne, what other Wayne is there?" Wally was getting tired of this.

"Thomas Wayne, for example, who is currently in a meeting. And Bruce Wayne is out of town, most probably delighting various women in some foreign tropical beach." Alfred replied, bored.

"Wait, then who's minding the Cave?" Wally asked.

"Cave, sir?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah, the Bat Cave?" Wally elaborated. Was he going insane.

"I can assure you sir, that there is no Bat Cave in Wayne Manor, I do suggest that you visit a psychiatrist. Good day." And with that, Alfred hung up.

Wally sighed. He was seriously running low on options here, then all of a sudden-

"Hey Wall-man!" A very familiar voice called. Not one that he wanted to hear, but for some reason it soothed him. He turned and saw Artemis running towards him, a smile of all things gracing her face.

"Hey Artemis." Wally smiled back, unsure of what to do.

He then got one more shock for his morning as Artemis, the crazy, psycho, angry archer threw her arms around him, and kissed him on the mouth. Not on his cheek, but on his mouth. Her lips tasted sweet, and for some reason, he didn't want to find out what was going on anymore. But he willed himself to break off from the kiss.

Artemis smirked. "So, ready for that dreadful English test?"

Wally shook his head. "Listen, can I talk to you?"

Artemis' face now resembled that of what he was used to. "What about?" She frostily asked.

"Stuff." Wally replied, grabbing her hand and drawing her away to an alley near the school.

Artemis looked around the alleyway. "Romantic spot, so what's up?"

"Listen, what's going on here? Is this some kind of joke?" Wally asked, not at all tactfully.

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "Joke? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you- everything, isn't how it's supposed to be! You-us, this! Is all wrong!" Wally brought his hands to his hair, exasperated.

Artemis looked very pissed. "I'm- we're wrong? Care to explain that Wally?"

"Well, yes, I mean no! Just- we aren't dating are we?" Wally was speechless.

Artemis balled up her fists. "No Wally, as of this second, we're not dating anymore."

As soon as she said that, Wally realized the mistake he had made. His eyes widened in realization, and as he looked up, he saw that Artemis had already left, and Wally sighed. He walked back out into the street, when he heard someone calling his name.

"Hey Wally!" One of Wally's friends waved at him.

"Hey Tom!" Wally greeted, smiling.

"So, hey, what did you do with Artemis, she looked pissed!" Tom asked, pointing in the direction Artemis had left.

"I-, Tom, was I dating Artemis?" Wally asked.

"Dude! Did you freaking lose your mind? You two have been dating for months!" Tom looked appalled.

"Huh. Remind me again how I wound up dating her?" Wally asked.

"Well, Artemis was the new kid last year, fresh from Gotham, and she was a chick with an attitude, not to mention a bit whack." Tom started.

Wally scoffed. "Tell me something I don't know."

"You were crushing hard on her dude."

"Say what? Me, with Artemis? No way in hell!"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Anyway, one of the jocks, I think it was Brandon, had asked her out before you could get the courage to even say 'hi' to her."

"Psh, I don't have trouble talking with Artemis."

Tom covered his laugh with a cough. "Right, anyway. Then, we had the end of year dance, and we went for the heck of it, and Artemis went with Brandon. Artemis was wowing everyone with how smoking hot she looked-"

"Dude, focus."

"Right. Anyway. Then it seems that Brandon said something to her that pissed her off, and she dumped him not only as a boyfriend, but that half the punch ended up on his head."

"That sounds like the Artemis I know." Wally nodded.

"As she left, you saw that she was crying, and then you went to comfort her, and you two ended up dating. You seriously forgot dude?"

Wally was dumbfounded. "No, just merely lost my mind. Listen, have you ever heard of Batman, Superman, or the Flash?"

Tom shook his head. "Nope, sorry man. Now come on, let's get to class before Ms. Cotkle has our heads."

"Sure thing.' Wally replied, exasperated.

==Lunchtime

"Hey Wall-man! I've got a bone to pick with you!" An angry voice called out his name while he was at his locker.

Wally turned and saw another of his friends. "Hey Mandy, what's up?"

"What's up West, is that you've got Artemis ready to murder someone." Mandy replied angrily, jabbing a finger to his chest.

"Like she needs an excuse to do so." Wally scoffed. Then he caught Mandy's glare and flinched. "What?"

"Why are you being so rude to her Wally? She never did anything to you." Mandy shook her head. "She's by the park alright? Just try talking to her."

"Fine." Wally replied, slamming his locker door and walking off.

Now that Wally thought about it, if this crazy other world of his didn't have superheroes of any kind, then Artemis was never a replacement. So really, he had no reason to hate her, and she seemed to be a nice enough girl. Hell, if Artemis wasn't, well, Artemis, he'd be all over her, trying to get her to date him. But he was thinking crazy talk. This was Artemis, who never resisted talking back to him, and making him feel like crap, and yet, this is the same chick that no sooner had she seen him this morning, she had rushed up to kiss him fervently.

He finally found Artemis on the swings, her back to him. He sat down on the swing beside her, and noticed that Artemis must be so deep in thought, she didn't even realize that he was there. So, he decided to do something he and his friends always did, and started swinging sideways, but lightly enough that he barely just tapped Artemis with his swing.

Artemis shot up rapidly, and then looked at Wally, her scowl deepening. "What do you want West?"

Wally smiled. "To talk to you."

"Shove off West, I don't need to talk to you about anything. You already told me that us dating was wrong, what more could you say?" Artemis scoffed.

"That I wasn't talking about us-"

"Oh? And that 'this' is all wrong?" Artemis bit back.

"Artemis, look, I was scared. I just woke up, and I was feeling confused, and out of place. I had had such a vivid dream, one which you hated me with a passion, and when I woke up, I think I was still in dreamland." Wally explained. He knew that what he said was partially true. In the world he was used to, Artemis hated his guts, so it was only natural to think this Artemis hated him too-

Wally was snapped out of it by Artemis swinging sideways and nudge him too. "I think you went to dreamland again." Artemis smirked.

Wally chuckled, and started swinging sideways with her, crashing into each other. "So, does that mean you forgive me?"

Artemis scoffed. "Please, this was probably one of the worst lies I've ever heard, but it was entertaining. So yes, I forgive you, for now." Artemis thought for a moment and continued. " I find it hard to believe I'd hate you that much."

Wally snorted. "You'd be surprised."

"I have a snarky attitude, and I like to keep to myself, but I don't think I'd be able to actually hate someone, especially you!" Artemis laughed.

Wally perked up. He had never heard Artemis laugh, and it was a musical sound, and so delightful.

"Hey Wall-man, watch out!" Artemis playfully called to him, and they collided once again. Their swings were now going rapidly, and now by-passing each other. After a couple of minutes, both their swings had gotten so tangled with each other, that they were stuck there.

They both started laughing at the absolute craziness of the situation, and how silly it was. Wally looked towards Artemis, and her eyes. He never noticed that they were of a stormy blue colour, and so endless. He neared his lips closer to hers, and they shared another kiss. As they broke apart, Wally started manoeuvring to get themselves untangled.

The end result was them spinning around rapidly as their chains became separated. Wally, being the daredevil he was , decided to jump off the swing, but he timed it badly, and jumped straight into the swing's metal support, and with a dull clank, fell to the ground.

"Wally! Wally!" Artemis' voice, calling to him, was the last thing he heard before he blacked out once again.

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><p><strong>To explain myself here:<strong>

**If there were no such thing as heroes, I'd imagine that things would've gone a bit differently. Such as: no one gets their parents killed. For example, Bruce Wayne wouldn't become an orphan, since if he did, he'd just become a mass of depression without cause or circumstance to get him out of said depression [ie: becoming Batman]. Also, Dick would also still be with his parents, and in the circus.**

**In other words, try to picture Bruce Wayne as Arthur from that 80's movie that they recently reproduced with that dude that looks like a rocker [and that I can't remember his name for the life of me]. Billionaire Playboy with nothing to do :D**

**And to the important part: If there were no heroes, there'd be no Shadows, and ergo, Artemis wouldn't have been trained by her dad to kill people, making her a much more aimiable creature. I mean, yes she is a bit OOC, with her rushing up to kiss Wally, but that was just for entertainment purposes, and to freak the hell out of Wally.**

**Also, since in the comics, Iris turns out to be this person from the future, and this is a normal universe, in this universe, there'd be no Iris, and therefore, no Barry Allen as Wally's uncle.**

**So in other words, all HUMANS still exist, just in a life where they aren't heroes. Which means that Megan, Conner, and Kaldur don't exist, for obvious reasons. And neither does Supes...again for obvious reasons.**

**So, who wants their scrambled brains sunny side up? :D**

**I know that this is confusing, but bear with me, next chapter we go back to normality, with the theme: Crush! :D**

**if you still have any questions, please ask, and I'll try to answer as best as I can!**

**Thanks for reading, and I'd appreciate some reviews!**

**Hezpeller**


	3. Love Is The Hardest Thing To Admit

**Hmm, fried brains anyone? :P**

**Well, it seems that I confused many people here :P**

**Anyway, this was a harder chapter to write, because I know how I want to end it, but not how I want to get there, so hopefully this chapter isn't too much of a drag :/**

**I had finished it last night, but I was too tired to upload it, so sorry! :/**

**So, now I'm more satisfied with my reviews here :) Thank you :D**

**Wheatieluv: Yeah, it was just a transition to show that he was in dreamland, and that he had left it :D Hmm, you can still join! I don't think they mind that you're late...if you're willing to catch up to it :P Thanks so much, and enjoy!**

**Mr. Hood: Thanks, and what made it so confusing :P I'll try to help make it clearer, if you can tell me what made it so confusing :P Haha, yeah, but there'd be no plot to make it into a separate fic :D Hopefully this chapter helps to clarify it a bit more! Enjoy!**

**MidnightRoulette: haha, yeah, I was just wondering :S Thanks! Well, genderbent Au isn't that bad...but I'm glad you liked that AU :) Thank you! I'm glad you like it :D Thanks so much, and enjoy the chapter!**

**KF-AxxMexx: Pfft, well, if you 'maybe understood it, then there's still hope :D That had to be my favourite part of it all really :) Enjoy!**

**memme10k: Thanks! I hope you enjoy this one!**

**Ansa88: Thanks a bunch :D I will try :) Yeah, That really was the motivation for that chapter :D **

**MewJollyRancher: haha, well, what would make it more clearer? I hope you enjoy this non-confusing chapter!**

**lmb111514: Thanks so much! Here it is so enjoy!**

**Everyone else: Please enjoy, and don't forget to leave me a review :)**

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><p>==Mount Justice<p>

"GAH!" Wally sat up with a yelp, startling everyone in the vicinity.

Robin and Megan were nearest and went rushing into the room.

"Wally! You're awake!" Megan squealed, and went over to hug him.

Robin chuckled. "Why do you look like someone just hit you with a train?"

Wally shuddered. "I had the weirdest dream, that's all."

"You can tell us about it later, I'm sure the rest of the team wants to know you're awake!" Megan was ecstatic at having Wally awake, and she flew off to tell everyone else.

Robin scoffed. "Right, if they didn't hear his scream a couple of minutes ago."

"Dude!" Wally exclaimed.

Robin shrugged. "It's the truth. Anyway, what was your dream about?"

"It was weird, I was in a world without superheroes!"

Robin gaped. "For real? Must have been boring. So wait, what were we all doing?"

Wally here looked down. "You were at the circus, with your parents."

"Oh." Robin replied, crestfallen. Then he cleared his throat. "So, what else happened?"

"The thing was that Artemis was going to my school!"

Robin did a double take. "What? But she's in Gotham!"

"Yeah, but that's not the strangest part, the strange part was that I was dating her! And she kissed me! And I kissed her!" Wally was flustered to say the least, and Robin could tell.

"Whoa dude, calm down, it was just a dream." Robin chuckled.

"Yeah, but dude, haven't you ever heard that sometimes, your dreams tell you stuff through symbols?" Wally theorized, waving his hands around.

"I thought you didn't believe in that stuff." Robin smiled.

"I don't, that doesn't mean I'm not educated in it. And plus, what possible reason could I have for dreaming about me dating Artemis?" Wally spluttered.

Robin smirked. "You seriously don't know? You like her! Come on, admit it, you've fallen for her."

"No! I haven't." Wally frowned, folding his arms over his chest.

"Right, you might never admit it, but it's pretty obvious you know. The rest of the team can see it, so why can't you?" Robin asked.

"Dude, I don't like Artemis!" Wally exclaimed.

"And yet, like you said, you kissed her." Robin pointed out. Then he smirked mischievously. "And I'm quite sure you weren't paying attention to her brown eyes either."

Wally scoffed. "Her eyes are blue alright, not brown. Plus, I kissed her in a spur of the moment thing, she'd never want to date me!"

"Date who Wally?" Megan had come back in with the rest of the team, and they were all looking curiously.

"Uh, uhm, well, you see..." Wally fumbled about for words. He then spotted Artemis, eyebrow raised, a look of scepticism on her face. "It's just a girl from school, that's all."

Artemis scoffed. "Yeah, how surprising, you want a girl that doesn't like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wally exclaimed, indignant.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Great, I'm not awake for a couple of minutes, and you're already bashing at me! Seriously, is it that hard to show compassion?"

Artemis huffed, and muttered something, and stalked off, everyone looking at the door that the archer had left through.

"What did she say?" Robin asked.

Superboy, with his super-hearing, replied. "She said 'maybe I never learned how to.' And then she said something about you being blind, and how stupid she is."

"Oh." Wally sunk lower on his bed.

"Wally, can't you see that she likes you?" Megan bluntly asked.

"Come on, did you see her attitude? She was ready to murder me!" Wally exclaimed.

"Perhaps she's only mad at you for taking so long to realize her feelings." Kaldur, always the voice of reason, politely pointed out.

Wally scoffed. "Right." He started counting off his fingers. "Because her practically laughing at my face and humiliating me the moment we meet. Her constant shooting me down with her sarcasm. Her love of calling me out on everything, and saying that her dad wants to murder me." Wally sighed then deadpanned. "Oh yeah, I can totally feel the love radiating from her every expression."

Robin chuckled. "OK, first of all, you kind of humiliated yourself that day, tripping over your own stuff. Also, you're always wisecracking over the smallest things we do, so why should you get worked up over her shooting you down and calling you out on everything. And the last part, well, we were all confused, so you can't take what she said at face value. Just give her a chance!"

"Right, I can see it now, us getting married, holding a knife over each other."

"You don't have to be so pessimistic about it." Conner rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I mean, maybe she just doesn't know how to express her feelings quite well." Megan offered.

"Right, because I have a degree saying that I'm a love expert capable of teaching to psycho archer assassins." Wally scoffed.

"No, but you do like her." Robin replied, in a sing-song voice.

"Argh, I'm not going to ask her out!" Wally exclaimed.

"Dude, if your dream you was dating her, it's got to mean something!" Robin replied, exasperated.

"It means nothing!" Wally denied.

"Keep telling yourself that Wally, and see how much more angry Artemis gets." Kaldur added.

"So? Why should I be pacifying her?"

"Because you're being hard headed about this! Why is it so hard for you to admit that you like her?" Megan angrily exclaimed.

"Because I don't!"

"You mean, you're afraid to admit it, because she might just be the girl for you." Robin pointed out.

"No...maybe- maybe I do like her, but I just don't want to be rejected." Wally confesses in a rare moment of sincerity.

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><p><strong>So, yeah this was a way shorter chapter...but this was kind of a hard chapter to write in my defense...so, sorry if it's really crappy :**

**And Wally's last line might be a bit whack, but come on, the guy has to have his sober moments...not sober as in not-drunk sober, but moments in which they become sincere.**

**I tried to incorporate some humour as well...don't know how great that was. Anyway!**

**Today's prompt is going to be Fate! So, hopefully I'll have lots to write about :D**

**You know the drill: Don't forget to review!**

**Hezpeller**


	4. What We're Meant To Do

**Alright! New chapter!**

**Why I didn't upload this yesterday:**

**It seems my computer was having issues with saving, and when Word decided to crash out of the blue, I had lost half of what I had done :/ Ergo, here's me, rush typing to get this all redone. Anyway, excuses aside, here's the new chapter!**

**And also, I had forgotten that I had a couple of sentences more for last chapter, so now everything makes sense to me, because it was looking a bit too OOC to me :S So it's I've added those lines here, so hopefully it makes more sense now :D**

**And I'm sorry I haven't been reviewing anyone's stories as of late...I promise that once the Spitfire Week is over, I'll go back and review :D**

**Woot!**

**Now, here we go more towards Artemis' POV, and deal a bit more with her, so I hope you guys enjoy!**

**So, yesterday's theme was Fate, and as always, avoiding naming the theme in the chapter :)**

**So, please leave me a review, and I hope you guys enjoy!**

**lmb111514: Thanks! Well, here it is, so enjoy!**

**KF-AxxMexx: Thanks! Yeah, Wally needs to get on with the program here! Agreed, one serving of drama, coming up :D Enjoy the chapter!**

**Mr. Hood: Ah, gotcha, maybe I should've made it more clear that it had been a dream then? Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Haha, hmm, it'd have been nice, but there'd really be no plot whatsoever for it :/ Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

**memmek10k: Will do, and enjoy!**

**shesXsuperXfreaky: [bows] thanks so much! haha, yep, here it is! Better late than never :D Enjoy!**

**Ansa88: Yep, he kind of admits it :D Yes, drama will be coming up soon, as soon as next chapter! Thanks! Yeah, it was a bit challenging, but hopefully this chapter was more well written. Hmm, could you maybe specify as to what is awkward, that way I can edit it? :P Yeah, it was a bit too OOC, and I had forgotten to add all of it, so hopefully with the beginning lines, they're a bit more like themselves :D Enjoy the chapter!**

**Jack v: Thanks so much! Yep, here it is, so enjoy!**

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><p>Everyone blinked.<p>

Robin recovered first. "Dude, are you sure you're feeling ok? Did you just admit to liking Artemis?"

Wally sighed, "Argh, no, yes, I just, I just don't know what to think!"

"You like her, but are afraid of rejection, you said it yourself." Kaldur stated.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I like her, of if I'm just too convoluted with what everyone thinks I feel." Wally murmured.

"Or the fact that you two shared two lovely dream land kisses." Robin made some kissy faces.

"Dude!" Wally pushes his friend away and Robin falls over, laughing his head off.

==Mount Justice Training Room

Artemis didn't know why in the world she had to fall for the blindest and most stubborn guy ever born. Plus, what was she supposed to do? 'Show compassion'? What the hell did that even mean? Her father hadn't taught her how to ask a guy out, just how to break his nuts and neck if they became too much of a pain in the ass, and she was sure that that wasn't a great pick-up line.

Artemis sighed. How was it that some girls had the grace of a butterfly, or whatever graceful animal they compared them to, and she felt about as subtle as a fire engine with her social skills.

Artemis knew that destroying more equipment wouldn't end in anything good, except for Wally falling and staying unconscious for a couple of days more, and Artemis wasn't about to start feeling guilty about that now. She hadn't felt guilt when she had to do all the dirty work for her dad, so she saw no reason to show more weakness now when she was technically responsible for what happened to Wally.

She started walking around and then came to Wally's souvenir room, where all his prizes were kept. Turning the light on, she snickered when she saw her arrow on its stand. She has thought about taking it back, but she knew that Wally would never consent to it. She shuddered at Jade's mask there, leering at her, taunting her. Then she saw the golden helmet, and it seemed to glinting, almost as if alive. She had to touch it, she just had to.

Artemis extended her hand, and went on her tippy toes to be able to reach better. As her hand brushed the fine metal, she lost all sense of her surroundings.

==Mount Justice hallway

Wally needed to get some fresh air, that's all. He felt like he was suffocating under all the pressure from his teammates. Why were they so persistent in getting them together? They were polar opposites, and although he had enjoyed toying with the idea in that dream of his, he wasn't quite sure of what to think.

He was passing by his souvenir room when he saw that the light was on. He actually hadn't gone in there for a while now, and was ready to chew out whoever was inside, browsing through his stuff.

"Artemis!" Wally exclaimed. The archer was touching that cursed helmet, a faraway look on her eyes, but the rest of her face was frozen in terror. As Wally looked on closer inspection, he saw tears on her face. He neared her, and wondered how he could get her out of this.

As he raised his hand, it seems that whatever was going on ended, and Artemis started to fall. Luckily, Wally's super-fast reflexes caught her just in time.

As Artemis' eyes fluttered open, she caught sight of Wally, and all of a sudden she yelped, jumping out of his arms, her legs flailing, smacking him straight in the face.

"OW! Thanks for that." Wally exclaimed, clutching his chin.

Artemis didn't reply to him, but was merely staring at him with wide eyes, and she then bolted from the room.

Wally glared at the helmet, as though it were an actual person. "What did you do to her?" He growled as he ran out to find Artemis.

==Outside

Artemis had to get away from all of this. She didn't know what that helmet did to her, but it had shown her how weak she had gotten. She was shown images of her father sneering at her, telling her to do what she was destined to do, to end all heroes once and for all, become a champion for the Shadows. She had seen her friends'-no, team mates' faces, silently begging to not give in so easily.

She was conflicted. Her 'wonderful' father was holding her mother as ransom. Sure she got to see her, and spend time with her, as long as she kept an eye on the team. The moment that she betrayed them, he'd whip out a gun and kill her mother.

She thought it'd be an easy job. Get some info, fool her team mates, and get out. However, she wasn't expecting in actually liking to hang out with them. She always thought heroes were people hat thought they were better than others and decided to flaunt around in oddly coloured clothing, showing off their superiority.

But, now that she saw that they cared, and that she was being treated like one of them, she was conflicted on what to do. But betraying her friends was only part of the problem.

She had actually fallen for one of them. And she was sure that Wally would never want to be with her, especially once he found out who she really was. She was completely lost on what to do.

And she certainly couldn't talk to anyone about it. Her father was out of the question, and her mother wouldn't be much help either. Paula Crock didn't know that Artemis was planning on betraying her friends, and that her life was at stake if Artemis didn't do as she was told.

And the rest of the team would probably lock her up once they found out she was one of the bad guys, especially a Shadow.

Artemis then perked up as soon as she heard her name being called. She turned around and saw Wally speeding over to her. However, as Wally tried to brake, he lost his footing and went skidding...straight into Artemis.

As they both crashed into the ground, they blushed, unsure of what to do. Then Wally, always acting on spur of the moment, kissed her.

They were both savouring the moment, hungrily kissing the other, before Artemis broke it off. Gently pushing him away, she walked off.

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><p><strong>Alright, so, this chapter was a bit easier to write...so hopefully it was more enjoyable :D<strong>

**Anyway, today's theme will be Cold! So people can hazard a guess as to what it'll be from the last line right?**

**So, if Word doesn't decide to crash [batglare] then I should have the chapter up sometime tonight :D**

**Please leave a review!**

**Hezpeller**


	5. A Great Conversation For A First Date

**Nope, I haven't given up on the story!**

**Sorry for the lack of updates, it's just that on Friday I was barely home, so I didn't write anything. Saturday I had to go on a last minute trip, so no update then...not that anyone really cares, but they're very legit reasons :D**

**Anyway, this chapter's theme is Cold...we've got 2 more themes to go, Pain and Trust, and I'll try to update them in the coming days...although the Week is over, I still want to finish the story :)**

**So, this is a short chapter, but I decided that at the end of the story, I'm going to leave it open ended. So we'll see how the next two chapters go :D**

**InTheMaking: Yep, Artemis isn't ready to face everything yet. It's quite alright, you don't always need to review, I always appreciate it :D And a well thought out review is always well seen in my books :D So thanks and I hope you enjoy!**

**KF-Axx-Mexx: Thanks a bunch! I hope this chapter is as amazing!**

**Jack V: Have done, so enjoy!**

**lmb111514: Thanks! I have done, so I hope you enjoy it!**

**ygirl87: Thanks is all I can reply with :D Enjoy!**

**Ansa88: Hmm, I think you just narrow your eyes and glare endlessly at someone :P Haha, yeah, I don't really know, but the expression still stands :D Hmm, yeah I guess I can see where you're coming from, but I've gotten used to using [redundancy :/] bigger and more eloquent words, so my 'slang-speak' isn't up to par :P But I'll see what I can do about it! :D Thanks! Haha, and don't worry, I won't ever ignore constructive criticism, and you're most certainly not making a mess of things :D Thanks very much, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**MewJollyRancher12: Yeah, incredible isn't it? Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Everyone else: Please enjoy and leave me a review!**

* * *

><p>Wally groaned. He seriously was terrible at these kinds of things. He saw that Artemis was walking along the beach, and he knew that something was wrong with her.<p>

Wally reasoned that, had she hated him, and was disgusted by the kiss, she'd have slapped him, and kicked him to the next county, but her indifference, her frosty attitude could almost be interpreted as scared. It puzzled him. Heck, he knew she had kissed him back, but what worried him was the way that he didn't see her blush, or say anything, just walk off.

Wally then decided to follow the archer, even though he knew that there was a high probability he'd regret it later on.

==The Beach

Artemis was mentally kicking herself. Hard. How could she have gone and kissed him back? Right after she had decided that it'd be best to keep to herself. However, secretly, she just wanted to get it all to go to hell, and just at least enjoy that moment with him. But she forced to keep herself as distant. She couldn't bear to become close to him, because the moment she melted, she knew that there'd be no way she could betray them.

What was she talking about? She had already thawed, she knew that she could no longer have the heart to kill them in cold blood. Or rather, she now had a heart. But she didn't want to lose her mother. No matter how many times they argued and disagreed, they always made up, and Artemis couldn't be able to handle a world without her mother.

How could she be forced to choose? Artemis groaned, and sunk to her knees, and for the first time in a long time, she cried.

==Further Back

Wally saw Artemis drop, and quickened his pace, and then he saw something he'd never expect to see, Artemis crying. He threw caution to the wind, and as soon as he approached her, he got down to her level, and hugged her firmly.

Instead of the expected brush-off, Artemis turned in his hold, and sobbed onto his shoulder. "Hey." Wally whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Artemis whimpered back.

"Right," Wally scoffed. "Because the world's toughest and most stubborn girl is the type that cries at 'nothing'."

"I just don't want to talk about it." Artemis shrugged it off.

"Come on, you can talk to me!" Wally smiled.

However, Artemis pushed him off, got up, and started walking away again.

"Hey come on! Why are you running away?" Wally exclaimed.

Artemis whipped around, her face livid. "Why? Why? Because you can't even begin to imagine what I'm going through. You might think that I'm angry because of something trivial, like the fact that I had trashed the training room. No, this is something much deeper than that. This is something so big, that there are people in very high echelons that would kill me if I do something wrong."

Wally held his hands up in surrender. "Well, calm down, help me try to understand."

Artemis laughed mirthlessly. "Help you understand? You think I'm a measly replacement, with no skill or ability whatsoever. You won't give a damn."

Wally was getting pissed. "Won't give a damn? Excuse me, but who kissed who a couple of minutes ago? I do think you have skills, you're an amazing teammate, and I'd have been dead in Bialya without you. Yeah, I first thought you were a replacement, but sorry for wanting to side with one of my best buds! I learned to trust you as a friend, and the only think you know how to do is to shrug people off, and not show that you care! That's the opposite of compassion, just so you know."

"I didn't learn that!" Artemis shot back. "While you were learning how to ride a bike, and how to say please and thank you, I was learning how to become a master at archery, and how to incapacitate someone quickly and painfully."

Wally flinched. "Sounds like a hell of a childhood."

Artemis turned away. "It was worse than that."

Wally approached Artemis. "Look, just try, ok? Opening up won't kill you, and I promise I won't go running for the hills, alright?"

Wally caught the ghost of a smile gracing her face. "Alright." Artemis consented. "But you won't like it."

Wally put his arm around Artemis' waist. "Come on, we'll figure out some way to make it better."

"Alright." Artemis took a deep breath. "I-I-I'm- uh- ah, erhm, I'm Sp-"

Wally sat down on the sand, pulling Artemis down with him, and pulled her close to him. "I'm guessing the stuttering isn't due to the temperature right?"

Artemis shook her head. "No, it's not. It's just that, you'll hate me."

Wally also shook his head. "There's no way I could hate you."

Artemis snorted. "Yeah right. So the fact that I'm Sport-" Artemis caught herself, and quickly stiffened.

Wally perked up. "You're who? Sport..." Wally egged her on.

Artemis braced herself. "Imsportsmastersdaughter."

"Gesundhiet!" Wally replied. "One more time. You're..."

"Sportsmaster's...Daughter." Artemis groaned, and pulled her legs close to herself.

Wally stared. "Oh. Uhm, well, I wasn't expecting that."

Artemis scoffed. "Yeah, of course you weren't. You can leave if you want. I won't force you to stay."

Wally stayed rooted to his spot. "Nope, I'm staying. I'm guessing that's why you knew so much about the Shadows?" Wally remembered their first conversation.

Artemis nodded. "I was part of it, training to become a very skilled assassin."

Wally visibly paled. "Huh, well, I'm glad you left. Did you not like the job description, or what?"

Artemis saw his pale face and smirked. "Nah, I was the best when it came to incapacitate people. I could empty a room in minutes, but I've never been able to kill directly."

Wally relaxed a bit. "Well, at least you don't have blood on your hands."

Artemis whispered quietly."No, I've killed people indirectly, and quite a number of them. "

* * *

><p><strong>Sooo, yeah, the big anti-climatic revelation!<strong>

**I seriously suck at suspense...really do :/**

**Anyway, hopefully I didn't disappoint anyone too much, and that you'll hang on for the next two chapters! :D**

**And if you could, please leave a review!**

**Hezpeller**


	6. Scars Left By Feelings

**Okay, okay, disappointing, I know.**

**But Word keeps erasing everything I do! Plus I forgot half the lines I had thought up of.**

**And on top of that, I got logged out of here, so now I'm having to re-write this whole schpiel again :/**

**So, yeah, I tried to add some humour, we'll see how that goes!**

**And since I'm too freaking tired to rewrite everyone's response, and since we've got no anons here, I'm just going to pm you my reply :S**

**So, please enjoy, and don't forget to leave me a review!**

* * *

><p>Wally raised his eyebrows. "How exactly does that one work out?"<p>

Artemis sighed. "I, I injured them quite badly, and they often died afterwards. But I have never been able to actually take a gun, or a knife to them and outright kill them."

"Your father must have loved that." Wally grimaced.

"Yeah, he taught me a lesson I'm never going to forget." Artemis muttered.

"So wait, how did you manage to escape from him?" Wally asked.

"I didn't." Artemis replied. "That's the very reason why I'm here."

"Oh?" Wally sounded curious.

"The whole reason why I'm here is to gather intel on all the world's heroes, and give them to the Shadows."

Wally's face fell. "And what are they planning on doing with that info?"

"Kill everyone." Artemis drily replied.

"And how did you manage to swing this by Bats?"

"I'm giving him fake information on the Shadows, and a bogus mission, he doesn't know about this, but he still doesn't fully trust me."

Before Wally could reply with anything, Artemis' cell phone rang.

"Hey mom." Artemis answered. "Uh huh, yeah, sure, I'll come home now, you want me to pick up dinner? Alright, sounds good, I'll be right over." Artemis hung up and looked at Wally. "Look, I have to go now."

Wally kissed the top of her head. "You're not getting away that easily. I'm going to take you home alright?"

Before Artemis could protest, he gathered her in his arms, and sped off, running towards the mountain.

==At the Mountain

Wally sped inside, and left Artemis waiting by the door. He saw the team sitting by the TV, and greeted them. "Hey guys, I'm leaving now, so I'll be seeing you guys tomorrow."

Before they could register that he had even been in the room, he sped off.

"And where's Artemis?" Megan wondered.

Robin snickered. "I'm betting anything that they're going to be enjoying a nice cozy date."

Aqualad shook his head. "More like they're going on a date, and she will end up impaling him for some bad joke he made."

==Gotham

Wally had run to where Artemis instructed him, and was now standing in front of the very dreary apartment building. As Artemis got down, she grabbed Wally's arm and pulled him inside, and up the stairs.

Once they reached the landing, Artemis froze.

Wally looked confused, and started to ask, "Why are we-"

Artemis quickly shushed him by covering his mouth with her hand, and listened closely.

"Yeah Paula, work's going good, so no complaints there. Now where in the world is Artemis?" Lawrence's voice was heard through the door, and Artemis looked wildly around, and while Wally was still trying to figure out what was going, felt himself being dragged and agonizingly shoved into a broom closet, where quite a number of mops were making contact with his back.

"Sorry." Artemis whispered, wincing. "But my dad can't know you're here." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, and slammed the door shut, leaving poor Wally in a state of confusion.

==Inside the Crock Residence

"Hey guys, I'm home!' Artemis greeted, entering the house.

"Dang it, there goes my attempt at surprising you." Lawrence grumbled.

"Well, dad." Artemis replied sardonically, "Your voice was relatively loud, so it was kind of hard not to hear you."

"Fine, fine. Listen Paula, I need to talk to Artemis for a couple of seconds, so we'll just go outside for a second, and if you can get started on dinner, we'll help out as soon as we're done." Lawrence turned to Paula, and the latter nodded, wheeling herself into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of earshot, Lawrence grabbed Artemis by the arm, and dragged her outside into the hallway.

==Broom closet

Wally was preparing some choice words to Artemis, when he heard Artemis.

"Geez dad, you can just ask me to come with you, the dragging is kind of unnecessary."

"Silence." Wally heard Sportsmaster's cold voice reply, and Wally listened closely. "I trust you're not attempting to betray me."

"What? What in the world gives you that idea?" Artemis' incredulous voice asked.

A scoff was heard. "I've seen the way you're with that idiotic speedster."

"Him? He's about as thick as a wall, and just as smart, plus, I'm just trying to get closer to him, nothing more."

"Ah. Mixing business with pleasure eh? I never pegged you as the type."

"There's a lot you don't know about me dad." Artemis replied boldly.

Suddenly, a thud was heard, followed by the faintest of whimpers. "There's a lot that I do know, but you're not aware of. So instead of back-talking to me, you should concentrate on your mission."

==Outside

Artemis picked herself up from the floor, her lip bleeding a little. Before Artemis could come up with a witty remark, her father grabbed her by the throat, and slammed her against the wall.

"Listen to me closely girl." Lawrence growled. "I won't take any sort of bullshit attempt at betraying me. If I get even the faintest whisper of your disobedience, I'll do much worse than I did to your mother. And I'm sure your boyfriend wouldn't like to be in the same predicament your mother is now."

"You're a sick monster you know that?" Artemis dropped all pretence, and outright insulted him.

"That I may be." Lawrence chuckled coldly, chucking Artemis away.

==In The Closet

A sharp intake of breath was heard as something, or someone, Wally thought with dread, hit the wall. He then heard footsteps approaching his hiding spot, and panicked.

==Outside.

"I hope we're clear on that point Artemis." Lawrence turned around to stare at his daughter trying to get up. He put his hand on the doorknob of the closet. "I don't accept betrayal, so consider that before you attempt it."

He yanked the door open, but was only greeted by some mops falling on him, on account of the closet being stuffed full.

"Are you going to become a janitor in your frustration dad?" Artemis smirked.

Lawrence slammed the door shut. "I've got my eye on you girl. Just remember that."

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><p><strong>Hmm, yeah so Sportsmaster is quite observant, and poor Wally must be rolled into a pretzel!<strong>

**Okay, so I'm going to get started on the last chapter, which is Trust!**

**To give you guys an idea, it includes my theory of who the mole really is!**

**And if it's not too much trouble, please leave a review!**

**Hezpeller**


	7. Keep Your Friends Close And Your Family

**Done! :D**

**The title's supposed to be 'Keep Your Friends Close, and Your Family Closer', but the title thingamajig isn't letting me put a longer title.**

**Woot! I finished this story! I'll admit, I'm not satisfied with this chapter...thing is, is that this chapter seems like it's missing the whole action aspect...not to mention that the end lines were a bit cheesy, but maybe it's just me.**

**So! Trust! And a whopping 2,700 words! I hope I don't disappoint!**

**And my theory of who the mole really is...let's see how that goes!**

**You know, I think I'm going to start replying to people by PM...much simpler :)**

**And a note:**

**See recently, I've been very busy, and I kind of skirted the why I was so busy. The reason is that I'm in charge of a repository on YouTube...some of you guys might have heard me mention it, YJFanVids...so yeah! That's what I've been doing that's gotten me sidetracked from my stories...but I promise I'll try to get my updates back on track!**

**So, as always, please enjoy and don't forget to review! :D**

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><p>After her father left, Artemis got up from where she was, and walked over to the closet. She opened the door again, and caught the attacking mops before they'd hit her. Then a voice asked "Is he gone?"<p>

Artemis looked above her, and saw Wally, crouched on top of a shelf, teetering on the brink of falling. "Yep, he is." Artemis nodded, not having enough strength to think of something witty to reply with.

Wally jumped down from where he was perched, and tons of cracks were heard as he stretched his sore back. "I don't know how Rob does that." He then looked towards Artemis, closing the door of the closet.

"You can leave if you want." Artemis stated, walking away. "Don't leave through the front entrance though, my dad's probably still standing there."

Wally used some of his super speed to catch up to Artemis, and stand in front of her. "Hey, I'm not leaving you. I know that you weren't-"

"You don't know, so please Wally, just-"

The door opened, and out wheeled Artemis' mom. "Artemis? Where did your father go?"

"He- he had to leave. Some urgent business." Artemis replied.

Paula saw Wally. "And who's this?"

Wally smiled politely, hiding his surprise at seeing that Artemis' mother was paraplegic. "Wally West."

"Well," Paula smiled. "Isn't this nice? Come on inside, and don't mind Artemis, she always seems to be in a mood when her father comes to visit."

"Mom!" Artemis groaned.

"But it's true." Paula pointed out.

"Because you don't have issues with your ex-husband coming for a visit?"

Paula shrugged. "At least I maintain my dignity, unlike you, who acts as though your father will pull out a gun and massacre us."

Artemis mumbled something in response, and went inside.

"Join us for dinner, I made three plates anyway." Paula Crock beckoned Wally inside, and he complied.

After they closed the door, Artemis came back to the doorway, her face a mask of anger. "West! Why in the world is the rest of the team in the living room?"

Paula blinked, and went to the living room to see what Artemis was talking about. Sure enough, there were four teenagers sitting in the couch. As soon as they saw her, they all quickly hid their surprise by smiling shyly and waving.

Meanwhile, Wally was backed up against the door, facing the very angry archer. He sighed and replied, "Look, I called back-up, so what?"

"So what?" Artemis exclaimed. "So what is that you're endangering all of us by bringing the cavalry. And if at least the 'back-up' was subtle, I wouldn't have minded, the problem, West, is that this team is about as subtle as a honking truck! And if my father catches wind of this, we're all goners!"

"Yeah? We may not be subtle, but we're at least trying to help you! Which is more than I can say for your ninja pals!" Wally yelled back.

"Guys, how about we save all of this for some marriage counselling, and we start leaving before Sportsmaster comes back with his own team." Robin called out.

Artemis and Wally glared at each other, and finally Artemis consented.

Paula was calmly told that this move was just for her personal security, and that both of them would be moving to the mountain for some time.

Some minutes later, they were all packed and boarded Megan's bioship, leaving the dreary Gotham apartment behind.

==Some time later

The bioship arrived at the mountain, and everyone disembarked quietly. Paula Crock looked around with curiosity, and while no one was looking, she wheeled off quietly. The team, meanwhile, helped to take out all of the Crocks' baggage.

"I'm going to go and prepare dinner." Megan said, flying off.

Artemis looked around, "Where did my mom go?"

Wally shrugged. "Hmm, I don't know."

"I'll go check." Aqualad, ever the gentleman, offered, rushing off.

Some minutes later, as they were nearly done unpacking everything, alarms began to blare, and lights to bathe the mountain in red.

"Um, Rob?" Wally yelled, cringing at the loud noise. "Bad time to test the security system!"

Superboy, with his super hearing, was worse off, and was trying to block out the noise by covering his ears with his hands, but was having no success.

"I'm not doing anything!" Robin replied indignant, checking his wrist computer.

"Well Bird Boy, since you're not doing anything, how about shutting down this cacophony! Preferably before we end up deaf!" Artemis growled.

Robin managed to shut down the alarm system, and everyone sighed. Megan came flying back, looking scared. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Robin replied, "I shut down the security system, since it went haywire. It'll take a couple of minutes for me to reboot it, and I need to connect to the main teleporter."

"Then let's go!" Wally, the ever excited one, was ready to zip there.

"And why, may I ask, are you so excited to go reboot a security system?" Artemis asked sceptically.

Wally shrugged. "It means that we get to eat sooner."

Artemis sighed. "Always about food."

Robin rolled his eyes. And as he started to leave, he yelled back, "Hey lovebirds, how about we actually get going? Bats will have my head if I take too long."

Wally went up to Artemis and whispered. "I may be all about food, but at least I'm not paranoid that a giant Bat will come and lecture me about taking too long in rebooting a security system."

Artemis grinned. "Touché."

==Main Teleporter

As the five team members arrived at their destination, they all froze at the scene in front of them.

Kaldur was unconscious, and Sportsmaster was holding him to his chest, and knife trained to Kaldur's throat. A small legion of faceless ninjas stood behind him.

"Now, let's make this easy, Bird Boy." Sportsmaster grinned wickedly behind his mask. "You give me the codes for the Justice League security system, or your precious leader will lose his head."

The whole team looked at Robin, and the latter made eye contact with Wally. Wally understood his signal, and went on a relatively suicidal mission towards the villains, but one of the ninjas came prepared, and took out a stick, tripping him. The other ninjas used this as a cue to attack the rest of the team.

As Wally fell face first, unconscious, a ninja picked him up and tied him up. The rest of the team was quickly went down with him, and was tied up. Even Superboy was easily subdued with a quick attack that rendered him immobile and unconscious.

"Did you actually think you could defeat me like this?" Sportsmaster cackled. "Now boy, the code."

Artemis struggled, and yelled out. "What did you do to my mother, you monster?"

Sportsmaster chuckled. As if on cue, Paula Crock appeared, Robin's laptop on her lap.

Artemis was speechless. "Mom? You're with him? Why? He's a monster! He's the one responsible for you being on a wheelchair!"

Paula Crock smirked, and laughed mirthlessly. "Oh my, you actually bought it all? Incredible."

Then as the three conscious team mates watched, Paula Crock stood up from her wheelchair and walked over to her husband, laptop still in hand.

"You- you liar!" Artemis spat, dumbfounded.

Paula Crock shared a look with Lawrence, and then she turned back to her daughter, smirking. "Haven't you ever wondered, Artemis, at the fact that while your father and I were separated, I kept the same last name? Or maybe, how I always manage to get my way with you? And how the Shadows seem to have so much in-depth information? I didn't do my best job at being the helpless mother here, but you must be really out of it if you didn't see that one coming. And all that cock and bull story about your father holding me ransom was all a lie. The best way to hold someone ransom is to have them on your side, to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Artemis, in her rage, tried to free herself, but it was no use.

"Now, dear girl, don't worry, I'll tell Sensei about how you helped us out, after all, your little fish friend fell right into our arms here. Not to mention that your boyfriend calling the rest of the boy scouts was perfect for our infiltration." Sportsmaster chuckled. "As soon as the demolition team is done, we'll leave this mountain to be blown up, and this will be the beginning of a beautiful downfall."

"So boy, the code?" Sportsmaster ordered, driving the knife closer to Kaldur's throat.

Robin sighed, and complied, telling them the code. They tested it out to see if he was bluffing, and to everyone's surpise, it actually worked. They started messing around with the system, waiting for the rest of the demolitions team to finish their mission.

Some minutes later, some ninjas came in, and Sportsmaster conferred with them. After they were done, Sportsmaster walked up to the remaining heroes. "Well, I'm sure the Justice League will give you guys a fitting funeral. Not that they give a damn about you."

Robin growled, trying to fight Sportsmaster, but a swift kick to the gut quickly made Robin go back to his previous position.

"Enjoy your last 20 minutes before the bomb blow up." Paula Crock smirked.

As the Shadows left, they turned off all the lights, leaving them to die in the darkness.

"So, who else is up?" Artemis asked, trying to get a sense of who else was still hanging on.

"Me." Megan replied, sitting beside her.

"Me." Robin coughed, still in pain from where Sportsmaster's boot struck him.

"Hmm, we're kind of at dead end here. Megan can you shift through these ropes?" Artemis was wildly trying to think of how to get out of here.

Artemis felt Megan shake her head. "I haven't learned how to do that yet."

Robin coughed, "If only we had some sort of weapon. I just had to let go of my utility belt when we were taking out all the luggage."

Artemis perked up. "Megan, can you levitate a knife from the kitchen?"

Megan concentrated, trying to visualize the knives in the kitchen. Suddenly, she felt that familiar sensation as the knife started flying towards her. "Got it!"

"Great." Robin muttered, "But I doubt a kitchen knife will cut through this."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Sportsmaster left us for dead...he doesn't care about rope quality, he prefers to waste the good rope for victims that he wants to keep."

"Right." Robin drawled. "I'll pretend to not be disturbed by that."

"Now what?" Megan asked, the faint twinkling from the blade barely noticeable.

"Pass it here." Artemis said. As Megan moved the blade carefully to her hand. It slipped a bit, and her hand got a nice gash, but it was still functional. "Got it."

Artemis started sawing through the ropes, while the other two waited with baited breath. When they felt the rope slack, they sighed, relaxing.

Robin started to turn the lights back on, as well as call the League and tell them exactly what was going on. Megan went to tend to the three boys, starting with Aqualad, and Artemis went off to find the bomb. They had already wasted 12 precious minutes, and they needed to disarm it as fast as they could.

==6 minutes later

The League had arrived, and while the boys were going to be alright, Kaldur was in critical condition, and taken to the Watchtower Med Bay.

The rest of the League went to do damage control, and before they left, they told Robin and Megan to find Artemis and leave, and most importantly, to not try and disarm the bomb.

Megan and Robin wildly tried to find Artemis but had no such luck. Megan then tried to communicate with Artemis telepathically, and they managed to locate her in the training room, with the bomb.

"Come on Artemis, and let's get out of here!" Robin exclaimed.

"No, we have to disarm this!" Artemis explained.

"Why?" Megan asked. "We have to get out of here!"

Artemis groaned in frustration. "Don't you get it? This bomb is set to destroy more than just the mountain. It's set to destroy the nearest couple of square blocks as well, and I prefer to disarm one bomb, instead of evacuating people!"

"Artemis, the League will handle it." Megan replied, scared for their survival.

"No." Robin said, quietly. "If we let the bomb go off, the League will take down this group, saying that we're a liability. We need to prove ourselves...again."

"Thank you!" Artemis exclaimed. "Now let's get this bomb shut down."

Together, they started trying to disarm it.

==4 minutes later

Batman walked towards the mountain, worried. No one knew the whereabouts of the three remaining team members, and from what he had been told, the mountain was about to blow at any second.

Suddenly, Batman sighed as he saw the three heroes shuffling out, smiling. But then, the ground shook, as an explosion blew the three teens out of the mountain, and into a state of unconsciousness.

==Watchtower Med Bay,

Artemis slowly woke up, and groaned as the bright lights started to bother her.

"Hey! She's up guys!" Wally's voice drifted to her.

Artemis opened her eyes, and saw Megan, Robin, Wally and Conner smiling at her.

"What happened?" Artemis asked. "I thought we disarmed the bomb?"

Megan looked down at this. "Actually, that's my fault. I forgot to turn the oven off after I came running to you guys. So the oven kind of blew up."

Artemis was flabbergasted. "You're kidding me right? We disarmed a freaking bomb only to be destroyed by an oven overheating?" Artemis then looked around and noticed something. "Where's Kaldur?"

Robin smiled. "He's fine. He's doing much better, and he actually woke up some time ago. But poor guy's still hurt, and he needs rest, but he'll be better soon."

Artemis smiled. But then she remembered her parents and a frown crossed her face. "I'm sorry guys, I never meant for this to happen."

Wally looked confused. "Why do you keep blaming yourself?"

"Because, all the stuff I told my mom, she relayed back to the Shadows. Not to mention I brought her into the mountain." Artemis sighed and, brining her legs close to her chest, buried her face into her knees.

Wally sat down beside her, pulling her close to him, and made silent gestures for the rest of the team to leave. They all consented, but not before Robin gave one of his signature smirks that promised Wally that he'd pay for this later on.

As the door closed, Wally leaned in and kissed the side of Artemis' head.

At this, Artemis shot up, and tried to escape Wally's grip, but with no avail. "Why do you insist on staying with me? Are you that paranoid that I'll kill you or something?"

Wally shook his head. "No, it's because I like you."

Artemis scoffed. "You kissed me, you acted all kind to me, and now you want to tell me that you like me?"

"I do like you!" Wally exclaimed.

"What happened to that girl at school you liked?" Artemis scoffed.

Wally sighed, and explained his weird dream. "So, ever since, I've been kind of wishing that us dating would happen."

Artemis chuckled. "You have a very interesting way of asking me out. Points on the creative dream though."

Wally perked up. "So, does that mean you'll go out with me?"

Artemis was laughing now, and wasn't even able to reply to him.

Wally frowned, and then pinned her underneath him. "Would it kill you to reply?"

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Reply with what?"

Wally sighed, and smirked. Typical Artemis to make him have to say it, and not her. "That you want to go out with me too, and that you like me?"

Artemis pushed herself up, catching Wally by surprise, and they switched positions, with her pinning him down. She smirked widely and, with her face close to his, she whispered. "I'll never say it."

Before Wally could come up with a retort, she kissed him, and Wally knew right then, that while Artemis wouldn't admit it, she liked him as much as he did her.

* * *

><p><strong>Sooo, The End!<strong>

**Like I said, open ended, cheesy end lines, and the action was missing.**

**And yes, I believe that Paula Crock is the mole! Come on! I think that she'd be the perfect mole!**

**Anyway...I'll go back to my regular updates, and I'll try to update my other stories soon!**

**Please leave me a review, and I hoped you enjoyed this story!**

**Hezpeller**


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